37202 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 132 / Wednesday, July 14, 2021 / Notices 

10 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A). 

11 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). In addition, Rule 19b– 

4(f)(6) requires a self-regulatory organization to give 

the Commission written notice of its intent to file 

the proposed rule change at least five business days 

prior to the date of filing of the proposed rule 

change, or such shorter time as designated by the 

Commission. The Exchange has satisfied this 

requirement. 

12 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). 

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3The term ‘‘Member’’ means an individual or 

organization approved to exercise the trading rights 

associated with a Trading Permit. Members are 

deemed ‘‘members’’ under the Exchange Act. See 

Exchange Rule 100. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants, or Others 

Written comments were neither 

solicited nor received. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

Because the foregoing proposed rule 

change does not: (i) Significantly affect 

the protection of investors or the public 

interest; (ii) impose any significant 

burden on competition; and (iii) become 

operative for 30 days after the date of 

the filing, or such shorter time as the 

Commission may designate, it has 

become effective pursuant to 19(b)(3)(A) 

of the Act 10 and Rule 19b–4(f)(6) 11

thereunder. 

At any time within 60 days of the 

filing of the proposed rule change, the 

Commission summarily may 

temporarily suspend such rule change if 

it appears to the Commission that such 

action is necessary or appropriate in the 

public interest, for the protection of 

investors, or otherwise in furtherance of 

the purposes of the Act. If the 

Commission takes such action, the 

Commission shall institute proceedings 

to determine whether the proposed rule 

should be approved or disapproved. 

IV. Solicitation of Comments 

Interested persons are invited to 

submit written data, views, and 

arguments concerning the foregoing, 

including whether the proposed rule 

change is consistent with the Act. 

Comments may be submitted by any of 

the following methods: 

Electronic Comments 

• Use the Commission’s internet 

comment form (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include File Number SR– 

PEARL–2021–28 on the subject line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Secretary, Securities and Exchange 

Commission, 100 F Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–PEARL–2021–28. This file 

number should be included on the 

subject line if email is used. To help the 

Commission process and review your 

comments more efficiently, please use 

only one method. The Commission will 

post all comments on the Commission’s 

internet website (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the 

submission, all subsequent 

amendments, all written statements 

with respect to the proposed rule 

change that are filed with the 

Commission, and all written 

communications relating to the 

proposed rule change between the 

Commission and any person, other than 

those that may be withheld from the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be 

available for website viewing and 

printing in the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room, 100 F Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20549, on official 

business days between the hours of 

10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the 

filing also will be available for 

inspection and copying at the principal 

office of the Exchange. All comments 

received will be posted without change. 

Persons submitting comments are 

cautioned that we do not redact or edit 

personal identifying information from 

comment submissions. You should 

submit only information that you wish 

to make available publicly. All 

submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–PEARL–2021–28 and 

should be submitted on or before 

August 4, 2021. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.12

J. Matthew DeLesDernier, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2021–14904 Filed 7–13–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–92351; File No. SR–MIAX– 

2021–27] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Miami 

International Securities Exchange, 

LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate 

Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule 

Change To Amend the MIAX Options 

Fee Schedule To Remove References 

and Fees Associated With the 10Gb 

Fiber Connection 

July 8, 2021. 

Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

(‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2

notice is hereby given that on June 28, 

2021, Miami International Securities 

Exchange, LLC (‘‘MIAX Options’’ or 

‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the Securities 

and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) a proposed rule change 

as described in Items I, II, and III below, 

which Items have been prepared by the 

Exchange. The Commission is 

publishing this notice to solicit 

comments on the proposed rule change 

from interested persons. 

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Terms of Substance of 

the Proposed Rule Change 

The Exchange is filing a proposal to 

amend the MIAX Options Fee Schedule 

(the ‘‘Fee Schedule’’) to remove text 

pertaining to 10 gigabit (‘‘Gb’’) 

connectivity that will no longer be 

offered by the Exchange and the 

corresponding fees for those services. 

The text of the proposed rule change 

is available on the Exchange’s website at 

http://www.miaxoptions.com/rulefilings/ at MIAX Options’ principal 

office, and at the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room. 

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

In its filing with the Commission, the 

Exchange included statements 

concerning the purpose of and basis for 

the proposed rule change and discussed 

any comments it received on the 

proposed rule change. The text of these 

statements may be examined at the 

places specified in Item IV below. The 

Exchange has prepared summaries, set 

forth in sections A, B, and C below, of 

the most significant aspects of such 

statements. 

A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

The Exchange proposes to amend the 

Fee Schedule to remove references and 

fees for the 10Gb fiber connection for 

Members 3 and non-Members. The 

Exchange will cease offering 10Gb 

connectivity as of July 1, 2021. The 

Exchange will continue to offer 10Gb 

ultra-low latency (‘‘ULL’’) connectivity. 

The Exchange currently offers various 

bandwidth alternatives for connectivity 

to the Exchange, including its primary 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 132 / Wednesday, July 14, 2021 / Notices 37203 

4See https://www.miaxoptions.com/alerts/2021/ 

02/04/miax-options-and-miax-pearl-optionsdeprecation-10g-ll-infrastructure-and. The 

Exchanged issued two subsequent alerts on March 

4, 2021 and March 29, 2021 reminding market 

participants of its intent to decommission 10 Gb 

connectivity in June 2021. See https://

www.miaxoptions.com/alerts/2021/03/04/miaxoptions-and-miax-pearl-options-reminder-andupdates-deprecation-10g-ll and https:// 

www.miaxoptions.com/alerts/2021/03/29/miaxoptions-and-miax-pearl-options-3rd-reminderdeprecation-10g-ll. 

5 15 U.S.C. 78f(b). 

6 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5). 

7See supra note 4. 

8See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 75986 

(September 25, 2015), 80 FR 59204 (October 1, 

2015) (SR–MIAX–2015–55). 

9The Exchange notes that no Member or nonMember transferred from the 10Gb connection to a 

1Gb connection and no Member or non-Member 

disconnected from the Exchange. 10See Exchange Rule 210. 

and secondary facilities. These 

connectivity offerings consist of a 1Gb 

fiber connection, a 10Gb fiber 

connection, and a 10Gb ULL fiber 

connection. The Exchange’s MIAX 

Express Network Interconnect (‘‘MENI’’) 

can be configured to provide Members 

and non-Members of the Exchange 

network connectivity to the trading 

platforms, market data systems, test 

systems, and disaster recovery facilities 

of both the Exchange and its affiliate, 

MIAX PEARL, LLC (‘‘MIAX Pearl’’), via 

a single, shared connection. 

On February 4, 2021, the Exchange 

issued a notice that MIAX and MIAX 

Pearl would decommission the 10Gb 

fiber connection in June 2021.4 This 

means that all Members and nonMembers utilizing the 10Gb fiber 

connection would have to migrate their 

connections to either the 1Gb fiber 

connection or the 10Gb ULL fiber 

connection. Members and non-Members 

utilizing the 10Gb fiber connection 

could perform the migration from April 

12, 2021 until June 30, 2021. 

The Exchange now proposes to amend 

the Fee Schedule to remove references 

and fees associated with the 10Gb fiber 

connection. The Exchange proposes to 

remove the references to the 10Gb fiber 

connection from the tables in Sections 

(4)(c)–(d) of the Fee Schedule, which are 

related to Member and non-Member 

network connectivity testing and 

certification fees. The Exchange will 

continue to offer the 10 Gb ULL 

connection and does not propose to 

amend the fees for Member and nonMember network connectivity testing 

and certification. The Exchange also 

proposes to amend the tables in 

Sections (5)(a)–(b) of the Fee Schedule, 

related to Member and non-Member 

monthly network connectivity fees, to 

remove the fee columns for the 10Gb 

fiber connection. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes that its 

proposal to amend its Fee Schedule is 

consistent with Section 6(b) of the Act 5

in general, and furthers the objectives of 

Section 6(b)(4) of the Act 6 in particular, 

in that it is an equitable allocation of 

reasonable fees and other charges among 

its members and issuers and other 

persons using its facilities. The 

Exchange also believes the proposal 

furthers the objectives of Section 6(b)(5) 

of the Act in that it is designed to 

promote just and equitable principles of 

trade, to remove impediments to and 

perfect the mechanism of a free and 

open market and a national market 

system, and, in general to protect 

investors and the public interest and is 

not designed to permit unfair 

discrimination between customers, 

issuers, brokers and dealers. 

The Exchange believes the 

elimination of the 10Gb fiber connection 

fee and related rule text is reasonable 

because the Exchange will no longer 

offer this functionality as of July 1, 

2021, thus making the fees irrelevant 

going forward. The Exchange notes that, 

because the 10Gb fiber connection is 

outdated technology and that Members 

and non-Members have other 

connectivity options, the Exchange 

planned to phase out this connectivity 

service in its entirety on or before July 

1, 2021.7

The Exchange believes the proposed 

change is reasonable, equitably 

allocated and not unfairly 

discriminatory because the Exchange 

has experienced a steady decrease in the 

number of Members and non-Members 

that purchase the 10Gb connection over 

the past few years since the 10Gb ULL 

connection became available in October 

2015.8 Further, as a consequence of 

more firms choosing to purchase the 

10Gb ULL connection over the 10Gb 

connection, the Exchange believes that, 

if it did not decommission the 10Gb 

connections, it would be unable to 

provide the current level of support to 

those firms that have such connections. 

The Exchange notes that from the time 

the Exchange initially issued its notice 

that it would decommission the 10Gb 

connection to now, 11 Members and 2 

non-Members migrated their 10Gb 

connections to 10Gb ULL connections.9

The Exchange also believes the 

proposed changes are reasonable as the 

Exchange provided Members and nonMembers six months’ notice that the 

Exchange planned to make these 

changes. During that time, Members and 

non-Members had the ability to make 

the business decision to: (1) Switch to 

the Exchange’s 1Gb or 10Gb ULL 

connections; (2) access the Exchange 

through another Exchange Member as a 

Sponsored User; 10 or (3) no longer 

access the Exchange. Market 

participants can also choose from 15 

competing options markets. In the event 

that a market participant views the 

Exchange’s connectivity and access fees 

as more or less attractive than 

competing markets, that market 

participant can choose to connect to the 

Exchange indirectly or may choose not 

to connect to the Exchange and connect 

instead to one or more of the other 15 

options markets. 

Further, the Exchange notes that there 

is no regulatory or legal requirement for 

any Member or non-Member to connect 

to the Exchange. It is a business 

decision of each Member and nonMember whether to connect to the 

Exchange and, if so, whether to connect 

via 1Gb, 10Gb, or 10Gb ULL connection. 

The Exchange believes the proposed 

rule change to remove the fees and rule 

text related to the 10Gb fiber connection 

is reasonable as the Exchange has 

observed a minimal amount of Members 

and non-Members utilize the 10Gb fiber 

connection and, therefore, the 

continuation of this connectivity 

alternative does not warrant the 

infrastructure and ongoing Systems 

maintenance required to support this 

connectivity alternative. The Exchange 

notes that its affiliate, MIAX Emerald, 

LLC (‘‘MIAX Emerald’’), never offered 

the 10Gb fiber connection as a 

connectivity alternative. The Exchange 

believes that the proposed rule change 

is equitable and not unfairly 

discriminatory because the Exchange 

will no longer offer the 10Gb connection 

to all Members and non-Members while 

continuing to offer both 1Gb and 10Gb 

ULL connectivity to all. 

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

The Exchange does not believe that 

the proposed rule change will impose 

any burden on competition not 

necessary or appropriate in furtherance 

of the purposes of the Act. The 

proposed changes eliminate the fees and 

related rule text that apply to the 10Gb 

fiber connection, which the Exchange 

will no longer offer as of July 1, 2021. 

As noted above, while there are a very 

small number of Members and nonMembers that utilized the 10Gb fiber 

connection, Members and non-Members 

are not required to utilize this 

connectivity alternative. As discussed 

above, decommissioning of the 10Gb 

connection should have minimal to no 

impact on Members and non-Members 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
37204 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 132 / Wednesday, July 14, 2021 / Notices 

11 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A). 

12 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). In addition, Rule 19b– 

4(f)(6) requires a self-regulatory organization to give 

the Commission written notice of its intent to file 

the proposed rule change at least five business days 

prior to the date of filing of the proposed rule 

change, or such shorter time as designated by the 

Commission. The Exchange has satisfied this 

requirement. 13 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

as those Members that utilize a 10Gb 

connection have other means to access 

the Exchange, either by to transitioning 

to the 1Gb or 10Gb ULL connection, or 

access the Exchange through a 

Sponsored User. Accordingly, the 

Exchange does not believe that its 

proposal imposes any burden on intramarket competition, or places certain 

market participants at a relative 

disadvantage compared to other market 

participants. 

In terms of inter-market competition, 

the Exchange notes that it operates in a 

highly competitive market in which 

market participants can readily favor 

competing venues if they deem fee 

levels at a particular venue to be 

excessive, or rebate opportunities 

available at other venues to be more 

favorable. In such an environment, the 

Exchange must continually adjust its 

fees to remain competitive with other 

exchanges. Because competitors are free 

to modify their own fees in response, 

the Exchange believes that the degree to 

which fee changes in this market may 

impose any burden on competition is 

extremely limited. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants, or Others 

Written comments were neither 

solicited nor received. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

Because the foregoing proposed rule 

change does not: (i) Significantly affect 

the protection of investors or the public 

interest; (ii) impose any significant 

burden on competition; and (iii) become 

operative for 30 days after the date of 

the filing, or such shorter time as the 

Commission may designate, it has 

become effective pursuant to 19(b)(3)(A) 

of the Act 11 and Rule 19b–4(f)(6) 12

thereunder. 

At any time within 60 days of the 

filing of the proposed rule change, the 

Commission summarily may 

temporarily suspend such rule change if 

it appears to the Commission that such 

action is necessary or appropriate in the 

public interest, for the protection of 

investors, or otherwise in furtherance of 

the purposes of the Act. If the 

Commission takes such action, the 

Commission shall institute proceedings 

to determine whether the proposed rule 

should be approved or disapproved. 

IV. Solicitation of Comments 

Interested persons are invited to 

submit written data, views, and 

arguments concerning the foregoing, 

including whether the proposed rule 

change is consistent with the Act. 

Comments may be submitted by any of 

the following methods: 

Electronic Comments 

• Use the Commission’s internet 

comment form (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include File Number SR– 

MIAX–2021–27 on the subject line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Secretary, Securities and Exchange 

Commission, 100 F Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–MIAX–2021–27. This file 

number should be included on the 

subject line if email is used. To help the 

Commission process and review your 

comments more efficiently, please use 

only one method. The Commission will 

post all comments on the Commission’s 

internet website (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the 

submission, all subsequent 

amendments, all written statements 

with respect to the proposed rule 

change that are filed with the 

Commission, and all written 

communications relating to the 

proposed rule change between the 

Commission and any person, other than 

those that may be withheld from the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be 

available for website viewing and 

printing in the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room, 100 F Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20549, on official 

business days between the hours of 

10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the 

filing also will be available for 

inspection and copying at the principal 

office of the Exchange. All comments 

received will be posted without change. 

Persons submitting comments are 

cautioned that we do not redact or edit 

personal identifying information from 

comment submissions. You should 

submit only information that you wish 

to make available publicly. All 

submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–MIAX–2021–27 and should 

be submitted on or before August 4, 

2021. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.13

J. Matthew DeLesDernier, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2021–14900 Filed 7–13–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD 

[Docket No. AB 83 (Sub–No. 17X); Docket 

No. AB 355 (Sub–No. 44X)] 

Maine Central Railroad Company— 

Abandonment Exemption—in 

Kennebec and Somerset Counties, 

Me.; Springfield Terminal Railway 

Company—Discontinuance of Service 

Exemption—in Kennebec and 

Somerset Counties, Me. 

Maine Central Railroad Company 

(MEC) and Springfield Terminal 

Railway Company (ST) (collectively, 

Applicants), have jointly filed a verified 

notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 

1152 subpart F—Exempt Abandonments 

and Discontinuances of Service for MEC 

to abandon, and ST to discontinue 

service over, an approximately 32.46- 

mile rail line known as the Madison 

Branch, between milepost 0.00 and 

milepost 32.46, in Kennebec and 

Somerset Counties, Me. (the Line). The 

Line traverses U.S. Postal Service Zip 

Codes 04963, 04901, 04957, 04950, 

04911, and 04958. 

Applicants have certified that: (1) No 

local traffic has moved over the Line for 

at least two years; (2) there is no 

overhead traffic on the Line; (3) no 

formal complaint filed by a user of rail 

service on the Line (or by a state or local 

government entity acting on behalf of 

such user) regarding cessation of service 

over the Line either is pending with the 

Surface Transportation Board (Board) or 

with any U.S. District Court or has been 

decided in favor of complainant within 

the two-year period; and (4) the 

requirements at 49 CFR 1105.7 and 

1105.8 (notice of environmental and 

historic report), 49 CFR 1105.12 

(newspaper publication), and 49 CFR 

1152.50(d)(1) (notice to governmental 

agencies) have been met. 

As a condition to these exemptions, 

any employee adversely affected by the 

abandonment and discontinuance of 

service shall be protected under Oregon 

Short Line Railroad—Abandonment 

Portion Goshen Branch Between Firth & 

Ammon, in Bingham & Bonneville 

Counties, Idaho, 360 I.C.C. 91 (1979). To 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1